Birds make me happy. I don’t have a specific reason. They just cheer me up so I’m hoping that my kids find the same joy in them that I do. All the lunches today are vegan (meatless and dairy free), soy-free, gluten-free and all ingredients are organic.

Miss G’s lunch (4 years old) is spinach rice noodles with a small bit of Earth Balance coconut spread mixed in and Field Roast sundried tomato (meatless) deli slices on top shaped into stars and a bird. In her Easy Lunchboxes container at the top are heart shaped strawberries and watermelon birds.

Along with lunch is her preschool snack in a LunchBots Duo stainless container. In the left compartment are carrot sticks, blueberries and dried apricot stars, and in the right are sugar snap peas, a Crimson Gold apple and a “snow ball” made of dates and raisins rolled in coconut.

In our fancy matryoshka bento box is little sister’s lunch. On the left side she has raisins in the flower cup with star shaped dried apricots. Below that is jasmine rice with carrot mini stars and sugar snap peas. On the right side are watermelon stars and below are bird-shaped sundried tomato deli slices and cucumbers.

Above is the elusive mom lunch. I am usually on the run, but decided to make a salad today. I had a giant pile of organic spinach, about a cup of black beans, bird shaped cucumbers and some daikon I found at my local Whole Foods. I have to say that the daikon wasn’t a good match with the salad. I read later that its taste softens with cooking which is what I’ll do with the rest. It was a little bitter to eat raw. On the sides are avocado slices. For my dressing I topped with a bit of red wine vinegar.